Kevin Pietersen and Matt Prior put animosity behind them

Former England team-mates Kevin Pietersen and Matt Prior put old disagreements behind them as they chatted and shook hands on the pitch before play began in the third Test in South Africa.

The pair shared a dressing room for many years but their relationship took a bitter turn in 2014 when Prior was pilloried in Pietersen’s autobiography as a “backstabber” and mocked for his ‘big cheese’ nickname.

Prior was hurt by the depiction but there was a hint of thawing when the former wicketkeeper retired from cricket the following year and received a tweet of support from Pietersen.

The duo are both acting as summarisers for TalkSport during the third Test at Port Elizabeth and converged in the middle shortly before the toss took place.

They talked cordially for several minutes and shook hands warmly as they parted, with Pietersen later taking to Twitter to share the moment.

Alongside a picture of the pair he wrote: “Lovely to see @MattPrior13 this morning. Bygones! We won some amazing Test matches together and time is a healer.”

Prior replied: “Agree totally. I remember the good times – of which there were many – fondly. Onwards!”